


Gold Dust and a Yellow Flash

by YaellNovella



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drama, Hokage, Kazekage - Freeform, M/M, Romance, Yondaime - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-04-05 15:57:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4185933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaellNovella/pseuds/YaellNovella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both Minato and Rasa are just normal jōnin, carrying out missions each with their own team. However, the ongoing war makes it impossible to ignore the other villages, and one day, Rasa finds himself forced to work together with the blonde Konoha nin. A bit suspicious at first, they join forced against Iwagakure, their common foe. Several major canon characters (such as the children) make minor appearances. Written to fit into canon as much as possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Asa (Morning)

**Author's Note:**

> \- Rasa's techniques are sometimes canon, however some of them are derived from Gaara's techniques.  
> \- All characters mentioned by name are canonical, though their relationship to other characters might not be.  
> \- Sunagakure's position during the war was never mentioned canonically, so for plot purposes I chose to fill this in myself, however not without logical reasoning.

The early hours of this bright Saturday spring morning were strangely pleasing. The sun was only just rising, but the young man was already awake for a while. He was rushing through the woods, heading for the border of the Land of Fire. An A-class mission to fulfil on his own. For someone like him, that wasn’t too difficult.

The smell of fresh tea in the morning made him stop. He looked down from the branch he was standing on, and at the other side of the road, he saw a small tea shop. With a glance at the sun to verify he had plenty of time still – after all, he was called the fastest shinobi alive for a reason – he decided to take a short break and make time free to eat breakfast.

“Good morning”, he greeted the man, who appeared to be well in his forties. A girl that seemed to be his daughter looked up at the sound of his voice, and with a gentle blush she returned the greeting right after her father had. He picked a seat and ordered a simple cup of green tea. The man ran his long fingers through his messy blonde hair as he got comfortable while waiting for his order.

It didn’t take too long, which he was grateful for, since the morning was still early and travellers were quite scarce in these parts. Yet it appeared there were some still, as voices outside announced other customers seconds before they entered.

In the blink of an eye, the blonde Konoha shinobi had already analysed it was a jōnin from Sunagakure, together with his team of genin. He didn’t seem to have been a teacher for a long while, something the other could relate to quite well. Two of his subordinates were nagging at each other, but the third one seemed more the calm, quiet type.

Just like Kakashi, Minato caught himself thinking. He smiled faintly all of a sudden, thinking of the team he’d left behind, doing other missions. During the war, everyone paid a stiff price, and team leaders often had to leave on their own to fulfil the more difficult missions, while their genin students were to complete other, more easy, tasks.

Minato wondered whether or not the Suna team was there for a war-related mission, or if they’d perhaps been so lucky to be spared of involvement in the war. Yet considering their close proximity to the warring zone, he doubted they’d not be involved at all. Sending such young, promising ninja to the front… He pitied the children for having to see things like that.

Yet at the same time, he realized he was grateful Sunagakure and Konohagakure had managed to form some sort of ‘bond’ in their feud against Iwagakure. He placed his empty cup back on the table while the other squad of ninja sat down at theirs. Minato caught a stern comment from the auburn teacher. “Suname, Sekka, stop bickering.”

Just that sentence seemed to shut them up. He looked over at them, just when that teacher looked up at the flashy appearance of the blonde Konoha ninja leaving. Their eyes met briefly, and they exchanged a nod in recognition of each other’s presence, before Minato finally left.


	2. Ressei (Bad Situation)

Rasa’s eyes trailed to the front of the tea shop. The flashy ninja had left only minutes before. What was he doing there? Hopefully not interfering with their mission. The frontlines were troublesome enough, and he didn’t want to put any of his students in danger. After all, their potential was great, and they’d be tremendously valuable to the village if they continued growing like they did now.

He brought his attention back to the children surrounding him. Sekka had finished his tea already, and Suname was busy urgently gulping down the last bits. As usual, Baki was the slowest of the three. He was a year younger, a year quicker to have graduated from the academy. An intelligent, loyal kid, Rasa had judged when he was assigned to his team. And up until now, he hadn’t been proven wrong.

“If you’re done, we can leave”, he stated. A dry notice perhaps, but to Baki it was a sign that he was supposed to pick up the pace a little. Their mission couldn’t wait forever. He rushed to finish the still hot tea and almost burned his tongue, but in the end, he was done more quickly than Suname.

He took the scroll that described the mission and unrolled it as they were walking outside, reading through their Kazekage’s objectives. They were to infiltrate an Iwagakure ninja border post and steal some of the important intel on the troops stationed in the area. Intel that Konoha would be able to use to turn the tides. An important strike that normally would require more than just a genin squad and him.

True, he was strong and he knew his own worth, but still. An entire camp? He had his doubts about the success, but since it were the Kazekage’s orders, he had no choice but to obey. The mission was priority. At least they had Sekka, who showed great promise as a medical-nin.

 

* * *

 

Minato was squatted in the grass, behind some bushes. He was staring at his map. He was definitely in the right place. The bridge in the distance had to be the one. He put away the map again and stood up, walking towards the quite feeble-looking thing. Three tags should be enough. He knelt down and placed three explosive tags in a row at the front of the bridge. A simple jutsu concealed them from sight. This was the fourth bridge he’d sabotaged that day. Only three more to go, and then he could continue with the rest of his mission.

The Konoha nin moved on, following the steep cliff. He was most likely to stumble across the next bridge if he just followed this rift. But some noise in the background made him stop and turn around. Was the enemy that close? And, even more importantly, that reckless to be so… unsubtle?

But when he spotted a tall man and what looked like a twelve year old kid walking a few metres behind two lively genin, he realized they weren’t the enemy. The two were racing to the bridge, trying to be faster than one another. No way he’d get there in time. Unless-

The whizzing sound made Rasa duck quickly. He spotted the strangely shaped kunai flying past him, straight towards one of the trees. Another one was aimed at the bridge, where the two careless ones were sprinting towards. “Sekka! Suname!” Rasa screamed.

In a flash, the two felt strong arms wrap around them, right before their feet came down onto the bridge, and more importantly, the trap. Another flash, and Minato stood at the tree where he’d thrown his first Kunai towards, holding the two genin tightly pressed against his body. He carefully put them down, while Rasa was still processing what was going on. What had first seemed to be an enemy attack, appeared to be a friendly rescue.

The two young shinobi rushed back to their teacher. Minato made a short bow, perhaps an apology or a greeting. “That bridge is booby trapped”, he said then, explaining why he’d intercepted the genin. “I’m ordered to take care of every bridge. Normally all squads should’ve been warned, but it appears you weren’t aware.”

Rasa’s silence remained for a few seconds. “Thank you”, he finally stated, to which Minato just smiled kindly. “We probably weren’t warned of it because we left quite a while ago, maybe before you even got this mission assigned.” It wouldn’t surprise him, because Minato seemed to outrun pretty much anyone.

“I suggest taking the next bridge. I’m headed that way too”, Minato said, pointing the way. “I could wait until you’ve crossed it before I continue my mission.” Rasa nodded. Not only was it a logical solution, this fellow jōnin had proved himself to be an ally and it would be good to have someone as strong as him around.

The blonde took the lead, followed by the genin and the rear was protected by Rasa. The latter was utterly quiet, but Suname was interrogating Minato. “What’s your name? You’re from Konoha, right?” Rasa let out a sigh. It was wonderful this other ninja kept Sekka and Suname distracted a bit, answering their questions, although he’d subtly avoided giving his name. A cautious man that wouldn’t take unnecessary risk, Rasa judged.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, they arrived at the other bridge. It seemed to be in a better shape. It was built in stone rather than wood, and the torii gates gave it an important look. Minato looked up at the large wooden construction, covered in bright red paint. “Here we are then”, he said.

Rasa stopped next to Minato. He squinted his dark eyes. “There’s something amiss”, he muttered under his breath, keeping his students behind him. “Yeah”, Minato agreed. “It seems there’s a group Iwa-shinobi on the other side of the bridge. But whether or not you’ll cross the bridge, they’re planning on attacking.” Rasa gave the other a short nod in reply.

They both were assessing the situation and had come to a similar conclusion. “What’ll you do?” Minato asked Rasa. “That depends”, Rasa said. “Whether or not I can count on you to have my back. Not that I’m likely to need your help, but…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. Minato just nodded. “I’ll protect them.”


	3. Taiji (Confronting)

Rasa walked towards the bridge. His dark eyes were scanning along the stone construction. Traps were all over the place. Some obvious, some less obvious. Avoiding the obvious ones would mean stepping on the less obvious ones. Smart thinking, he judged, but not smart enough to fool someone like him. He stopped right in front of the bridge.

One, two… His gaze slid over the trees on the other side. There were thirteen in the trees, and about twenty-seven on the ground, hidden in the bushes. Forty in total. He crossed his arms. Lucky for him, he could easily take out large groups. He briefly wondered what type of combat the Konoha nin maintained. Would he be able to take out forty enemies at once? No matter. There were more important things to worry about right now.

A swift, brief movement where he smacked his palms onto the floor. “Jiton: Sakin Taisō!” A massive wave of glittering gold erupted from the deep ravine, gulfing upwards towards the other side. Rasa could hear the fearful yelping of the ninja from their hiding places, especially when the massive amount of gold dust crashed down onto the trees.

Minato was looking on from a distance. It was quite impressive to see such massive techniques. He relaxed his position a little. This Suna jōnin surely had some aces up his sleeve. “Impressive!” Minato called out, causing Rasa to turn around to look at him. Their eyes briefly met. Minato’s kind blue eyes smiled at Rasa, but the gaze he got in return was all but kind.

“Behind you!” he screamed. Minato quickly turned around, and as he did, his eyes met that of one of the Iwa jōnin. Had that ambush been just a distraction? Forty lives wasted to take out three genin and two jōnin? He quickly moved his hand forward and blocked the incoming attack with one of his trademark hiraishin kunai.

It was, however, unlikely this ambush unit consisted of only one man. Minato’s blue eyes quickly scanned the area, but there was no sign of them. “Back to back”, he commanded the genin. They’d have to protect themselves, too, if they wanted to make it out alive.

The three immediately listened. Baki moved to Minato, while Sekka and Suname placed themselves against each other as well, each holding a kunai and maintaining a defensive position. Minato judged Sekka was the most nervous of them all, which made him jump to the conclusion that this must be a medical-nin, trained to provide backup rather than partake in actual combat. But the need was high, and even medics had a basic training so they could protect themselves.

Right beneath his feet, the surface of the earth suddenly burst open. Right. The fact that Baki was standing behind him now proved to be a problem. He couldn’t take a step back, so to the side it was. But jumping away, he felt the hand of the Iwa nin close around his ankle, dragging him back, and stopping him from rushing away.

Sure, he could escape from that and fight for himself, but at the same time, he heard that there were other shinobi behind them, targeting the genin. With a quick twist of his body, he turned around, facing Baki’s back as he was falling to the ground. A swift kick onto the hand that held his other leg forced the Iwa nin to let go of him. Minato placed his hand on the floor, breaking his fall, and with a few quick jumps he distanced himself from the group.

Who was their target? Definitely not the genin: nobody would bother with them, unless they were important people, and Suna’s Kazekage was not as stupid as to send people like that to the border. Their team leader? He was powerful, that was true, but there had to be more than just that. Furthermore, if any of the Suna team were their target, wouldn’t they have waited at the bridge where they originally planned to cross the ravine?

There was but one option left: Minato was their target. It did add up. After all, Kushina could control the demon fox that was sealed inside her thanks to him, and if she lost him, the beast would go rampage. Rampage right in the heart of Konoha, one of the greatest foes of Iwa, which would turn the tides of war entirely.

“Get out of here!” he yelled at the genin and Rasa. The three kids looked at the auburn haired man, taking orders only from him, and though the man wanted to stick around and fight, he knew that his own mission had to go before the safety of this random Konoha nin they had met. “Baki, Sekka, Suname, to me”, he commanded, an order which was quickly followed.

“Baki, take the lead, I’ll be rear guard.” The young ninja shot forward, closely followed by the other two. Rasa looked over his shoulder as the three crossed the bridge, looking at the jōnin they were leaving behind. By the looks of it, he would make it out of there alive. With that, he turned around and rushed after the others.


	4. Keisei gyakuten (Reverse situation)

A relieved sigh escaped the blonde’s lips. Now he didn’t have to fend for three kids alongside his own life, and their teacher could protect them fairly well, but not if Minato was hopping around them. Furthermore, the threat was gone. He was their target, and if anything happened to him, Kushina and Konoha were bound to suffer the consequences.

So this fight was not only for his own life, but for the lives of each and every shinobi in the village. He glanced briefly over his shoulder at the group that was leaving in the distance. His eyes shortly met that of the auburn ninja. He could read in them that the man had faith he wouldn’t perish, and that confidence from a stranger was quite the boost to his own self-esteem.

Not that he would require that to actually make it through this. He pulled out his hiraishin kunai again, keeping them ready as his blue eyes quickly scanned for the perfect locations to plant them, as well as the locations of the foes that were most likely surrounding him. Perhaps there were hundreds of them, considering the actual diversion unit had consisted of forty.

What did give him the advantage, though, was that the Iwa ninja thought they had a better chance now to fight the one nicknamed the Yellow Flash. There were four less ninja around him. They didn’t realize that exactly this gave Minato the advantage: nothing to worry about, nothing to protect but himself.

The soft ‘tacks’ sounded as the hiraishin kunai landed in the trunks of the trees, soft ‘pluff’ noises from those that sunk into the soil, and light ‘tics’ from those that flew towards more rocky underground and stuck in it with great effort. The stage was set, and the dance could begin.

 

* * *

 

Perhaps the usual fight of a shinobi didn’t take long. Stealth, tactics and speed were the key, not strength or endurance. At least in the most prototypical of fights. But this fight, one man against all those others, took longer than either party had expected. Minato was counting on his speed, just that tad bit too much, and the Iwa ninja were counting on their numbers, just that tad bit too much.

Neither side did make it out as well as they wished they had. The Iwa nin lost the largest part of their squad with only two survivors of which one was gravely wounded and nearly dying, while Minato still managed to get out alive, though not without having been wounded. A large cut in his side, where the blood was gushing out, leaving a trail that was easy to track, as well as incapacitating him for future fights and making it impossible for him to continue his mission.

He needed to find a place where he could rest and regain at least some of his strength, as well as patch up the wound and make sure it wouldn’t mean his death either way. He pressed his hand on the cut, trying to at least decrease the bleeding by putting some pressure onto it. It helped, but not enough. His vision was slowly blurring, and his strength slipping away from him.

The sheer fact that he was trembling by blood loss, sweating and pale, forced Minato to sit down on an open spot in the forest. He glanced aside, noticing the trail of blood. As soon as the survivors of the battle returned to their superiors and briefed on the situation, they’d send out another squad to finish the job, and Minato knew they would send enough to finish him off for good.

There wasn’t enough time for him to make it out of there with that kind of wound, and make sure they couldn’t follow the trail of blood. It’d be a matter of hours before they found him and finished the job. He closed his eyes, his thoughts of Kushina and wondered how long it’d take her to hear of his death. The darkness was already closing in on him, and he knew the loss of blood would make him pass out. Too easy a target, he thought to himself as he forced himself back on his feet.

He stumbled, nearly fell. Damn that weakness. A few steps forced forwards, and then again he stumbled, but this time, he couldn’t regain his balance in time. Yet he didn’t hit the ground. A strong arm had caught him before he truly fell, and he recognized the odour of what seemed to be a beach, but he knew right away that this scent of sand belonged to the Sunagakure ninja he’d met before.

“Hang in there”, the auburn’s deep voice sounded. He didn’t need to be told that twice. The idea of having a chance of survival, to save his village… that was something that kept him going. Together, they stumbled forward, and it appeared the Suna shinobi had set up camp not far from there. “Sekka”, the man called out as he carefully placed Minato with his back against a tree. “Time for you to show off your medical skills.”

But the last words of the ninja’s voice were lost to Minato, as the darkness already crept once more onto him. He let out a soft sigh, as if he was relieved, but Rasa saw his head drop and quickly shot his hand forward, keeping Minato from falling over. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and we don’t have much time”, Rasa informed his student. “Do what you can to help him, after all, he saved your lives too.”

The young genin, nervous and already sweating, got to work. But that wasn’t what bothered the Suna nin most. He too realized this ninja was the target of those ninja, and they’d have to get out of there. Yet he wasn’t as ungrateful as to leave this man that saved them to his grim fate. Time was running out, and they’d have to leave before they got caught into another fight with those Iwa shinobi.


	5. Maisō (Burial)

It didn’t take long before Minato came to again. When he opened his eyes, he was looking directly at Rasa, who sat leaning against a tree and keeping his watchful gaze on the encampment. Minato knew he was standing guard while the genin were quickly packing up. He hadn’t been out for that long, it appeared. Good. He glanced right, left, nothing to see. Only then he looked down, at the stinging pain, and noticed his bare chest with a neat bandage wrapped around it.

He looked up at Rasa once more. “Thank you”, he said, appreciating the aid he received from the Suna ninja. “Not a problem”, the other replied. “Your skills are too valuable to throw away.” Minato snickered lightly at that. The value of his skill? That was an odd reason to keep him alive, especially for a ninja from a rivalling village. “You sure?” he wanted to know, as Rasa stood up to help Minato get back on his feet.

“That, and you saved my students”, Rasa remarked. “After being the cause of their endangerment”, Minato reminded Rasa, to which the auburn ninja’s brows furrowed. The blonde had a point. “We’re allies in this war”, he quickly defended himself, coming up with yet another reason to keep Minato alive. “And, in return, you can help us out with our mission.”

At that, Minato had to laugh again. “Of course”, he said. “At least, if you’re willing to help me out on mine too. I’m in no condition to fight on my own.” Rasa scanned the other, wondering how exactly this man had managed to be defeated. He looked so strong, truth be told, even stronger than Rasa himself, but that was the Suna nin’s own interpretation of course, and he did not care to put the theory to the test, and even Rasa could’ve won the fight.

“That’s a given”, he stated, raising an eyebrow. “I’m only curious to how someone like you could have been defeated by the likes of them.” Minato was still smiling, but his smile faded a little. The other just _had_ to ask him about that embarrassing little detail, didn’t he?

“Maybe we should discuss that when we all got to safety”, Minato proposed, something which Rasa had to agree to, however reluctant he was. He was curious, and if this Konoha shinobi refused to share the information he had on their mutual enemy, it could prove to be a mistake trusting and even saving him. Rasa wrapped the man’s arm around his own shoulder, supporting him. None of the genin could obviously help him like that, as the height difference would pose a problem.

“Are you the one that patched up my wound?” Minato asked Sekka, who shyly nodded. “Great job! Reminds me of my own student”, he complimented the young one, who puffed up his chest in pride and flushed a darker colour. He quickly rushed towards Suname to tell his friend of the jōnin’s praise at his address.

Rasa quickly shut them up by mentioning: “While I scouted the area, I found a set of underground caverns not far from here, right before I found our good friend Konoha here. The underground there will leave less traces, and the underground labyrinth will make it harder for them to track us.”

Minato looked aside. It sounded like a great plan, however he realized that this land was probably more familiar to the Iwa ninja than to them, and that if the underground caverns were known to these ninja, they could just as well be walking straight into their doom.

He let out a quiet sigh, which notified Rasa that he didn’t think it all too good an idea, but as Rasa turned towards him, he’d see Minato shake his head slightly, indicating that talking while the students could hear it, wasn’t the best idea. Rasa slowed down, allowing the three to go on ahead, so long they couldn’t understand what they were saying.

“What is it?” he wanted to know. Minato conveyed his thoughts, and Rasa considered them. “It’s a risk we have to take”, he decided. “Especially with you in this condition, we can’t stay out in the open.” Minato shook his head. “I agree to that”, he stated “however, I don’t think those three have to be dragged down into the risk. The two of us could complete both our missions, missions in dangerous terrain, and with me being here, I doubt this is just a B-rank mission, or A-rank. This is becoming closer to an S-rank mission for you guys.”

Rasa now stopped. The man had a point. They were being hunted by the elite shinobi of Iwa, and the three genin would be exposed to an extraordinary danger. Their potential was too great to waste, Rasa thought. “I’ll send them back”, he decided. “They’re strong and quick enough to make it out of here on their own, and we’ll hold back the Iwa ninja if that turns out to be necessary.”

A shrill whistle sounded, and the three genin returned to their teacher. They had already arrived at the entrance of the caverns. Minato didn’t quite like the look of them, yet he knew they wouldn’t have much of a choice. “Baki, you’re team captain”, Rasa stated. “You three are to head back to the village and report on what happened up until now. My judgement is this mission has been upped to an S-rank, and you’re not yet ready for that. No protest.”

The three obediently listened to their teacher and headed out immediately. “Now all that rests us…” Rasa said as he glanced at the cave entrance. “Yes, I’m not quite fond of the idea, but it seems we have little choice”, Minato stated. “We should make the entrance collapse, make sure nobody has the chance to follow us.”

Rasa agreed. He carried Minato inside, and placed him down against one of the cave’s walls. Minato was creating an improvised torch, while Rasa stuck some explosive tags to the walls. He retreated into the caves and let the tags explode, just when Minato managed to create a light. “Here we are then”, Rasa said as he looked upon the rubble. “Locked up in a cave of which we’re not even sure has an exit.”


	6. Ninmu (Mission)

The darkness surrounded them, and without the light Minato had just lit, neither of the two ninja would be able to see anything at all. “So how about we sit down for a minute?” Minato suddenly proposed to the other, who seemed to have been planning on going on ahead and exploring before returning for Minato. “What’s that good for?” Rasa wanted to know.

Minato shrugged. “A few things. First of all, we need to discuss strategy. Secondly, if we’re to help each other, disclosing the details of our missions and sharing information might be useful. And lastly, maybe introducing ourselves to each other would be nice too.”

Rasa briefly frowned, but then he dropped his shoulders and walked back to Minato. He sat down and crossed his legs, resting his hands on his knees as he kept his stern gaze focused on the other. “Let’s not waste too much time with this”, he stated, not quite interested in having needless small talk with the other, wasting valuable time and taking unnecessary risks at that.

“Let’s start with exchanging names, then”, Minato suggested. “The name’s Namikaze Minato, but you can call me Minato.” The other gave a short nod. “Rasa.” A short and simple answer, but more was not necessary. “Very well”, Minato said, noticing the man wasn’t quite eager to chat and lengthy answers didn’t seem to suit him anyway.

“So, mission?” Minato then continued to the next question. Rasa gave a brief nod. “Infiltration of a nearby Iwagakure border post, steal intel.” Minato rubbed his hand through his hair. Seriously, if he hadn’t known better, he’d have guessed this Suna-ninja was allergic to talking. “You can always make sentences with more words…” he muttered under his breath, but when he saw the man squint his eyes, he quickly waved away his comment. Better not to piss off his newly found comrade-in-arms.

“Ehm, my mission is a bit more elaborate than that, I’m afraid”, Minato stated. “First I have to disable a few more bridges that serve as supply route.” He rolled open his map and pointed at the bridges. Rasa shortly nodded, but when he glanced up, he noticed Minato’s eyes fixed on him. Sheez, that Konoha nin was fond of wasting precious time with talking. “I see”, he stated, stressing his words as if to say ‘look I’m talking’.

Minato’s lips curled into a playful smile. He quite got the nonverbal sneer he’d received. Rasa noticed the little smile, and he could help but slightly grin childishly as well. How ridiculous they were; two jōnin grinning like genin over some stupid joke. He quickly got a hold of himself, forcing himself to be serious again. “You said it’s elaborate?” he questioned, reminding Minato that he still had another part of his mission to explain. Blowing up bridges didn’t fall under ‘elaborate’.

“Yes, well”, Minato said, letting out a sigh. This part was a bit trickier. “It’s a mission that exists of separate parts, which is the thing that makes it most complicated. For one, the bridges, secondly assassination, and finally escort and delivery.” He pressed his hand against his wound. The blood wasn’t coming through yet, which indicated the genin had done a much better job than one would expect him to.

 “Sounds troublesome enough”, Rasa said with a sigh. “Yes”, Minato agreed. “But one thing is at least convenient.” Rasa frowned. “What’d that be?” Minato shrugged briefly, turning his gaze away. “If I’m right to assume your target of infiltration is this post...” He tapped his finger on the map, where a cross marked their destiny. Rasa nodded, indicating Minato’s assumption was right.

“Well, my assassination target resides there.” Rasa nodded again, agreeing that it indeed was quite convenient. “Officer?” Now it was Minato’s turn to nod. “Figures”, Rasa muttered. He wondered if his mission was useful at all then. After all, wouldn’t they realize too quickly that there was important information missing, which made that information virtually useless. The enemy would adapt to it anyhow.

Not that that mattered. They both had a mission they had to complete, and neither of them could change anything about it. “Well, we better not tally”, Rasa decided. Minato waved his hand at the other, urging him not to be too hasty. “Tactics”, he reminded the other of the third point of conversation they had agreed upon.

“Right”, Rasa sighed. Minato was folding the map already, slipping it back into his bag. “First of all…” he muttered, digging into his pocket. He reached out and gave Rasa one of his hiraishin kunai. If we ever get separated, this will allow me to reach you quickly to provide backup, or retreat and regroup.” Rasa twisted the blade in his hand. Heavier than a kunai, he thought to himself. But still easy enough to throw, and quite a useful technique. He nodded and slipped it in his own gear.

“Let’s talk while we move”, he proposed, already slipping under Minato’s arm to support the wounded man. “Not really smart wasting precious time on sticking around in enemy territory to chat each other up.” Minato got back on his feet and glanced at Rasa. “Are you always so serious?” he wanted to know as they got a move on.

“I guess”, Rasa said with a little sigh. “Kurara…” He realized he’d spoken that name before he realized. “My wife”, he clarified quickly “she always says I’m too serious…” Minato snickered at that. “She’s right”, he teased the man, turning his head slightly. Their eyes met for a second, and he could swear that if Rasa could sigh with his gaze, this gaze was it.

“I’m always told I’m too much of an idiot”, he admitted, giving the other something to mock him with too. “I can see why”, he heard Rasa mutter under his breath. He gave Rasa a sideways glance, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t start a war between our villages now”, he joked. Rasa snorted. “That’s the Kazekage’s call to make”, he reminded Minato.

A short silence fell, and Minato’s smile faded away a little. “Sometime soon”, he remarked, but didn’t clarify what he meant with that, much to Rasa’s annoyance. “Sometime soon what?” he wanted to know. “You’ll be Kazekage”, Minato stated. “And I’ll be Hokage.” At that, Rasa laughed out loud for the first time, which caught Minato quite off-guard.

“If that ever happens, I promise our villages will have a bond so close after this mission, that nothing ever will drive them apart”, Rasa stated, even though he was not one to make many promises. “I’ll keep you to that”, Minato said, grabbing Rasa’s hand, shaking it as if he wanted to seal the promise with that. “I, from my side, will keep you to that promise, and add to it Konoha will never break that alliance on my watch.”


	7. Hakubo (Nightfall)

Minato groaned loudly, his wound growing too painful on him. “I’m sorry”, he muttered when Rasa gave him a strangely worried look. “It’s too painful”, he added, pressing his hand on his wound. “It looks like it”, the other replied, carefully walking to the side of the tunnel where he put Minato down against the wall once more.

Rasa took Minato’s hand and dropped it on his shoulder, lifting his arm to make the wound accessible. “It looks like the bandage is leaking”, he stated. “Means the wound started bleeding again.” His dark eyes slid to the beautiful blue ones of the other. Minato gave him a hesitant smile and a faint shrug. “You _knew_ ”, Rasa realized, and he sounded a bit accusing.

“Sorry”, Minato muttered, dropping his chin. He shouldn’t have hidden that from the other, but he didn’t wish to be a bother. “You better be”, Rasa muttered under his breath. He slipped Minato out of the flak-jacket and pulled his sweater up, revealing the bare chest and the bandaged wound. “Hold this”, he asked, and Minato did as told quite obediently.

Rasa moved a bit closer, placing his knee between the other’s legs, and started taking off the bandages. Minato’s face was nearly pressed into the auburn ninja’s chest, and he realized the man had a quite unique smell. Desert, or even the scent of a beach during summer, with hints of the sea.

A soft chuckle suddenly escaped him. The idea of sea and sand sure did fit Rasa. He was calm and quiet like a wind still moment, but dangerous like a sea storm. Loyal and reliable, and at the same time treacherous. And on top of that, beautiful and warm.

“What’re you giggling about?” Rasa wanted to know as he tossed away the bloodied bandages. His voice called Minato back to reality. “Ah, I was thinking of… the sea”, Minato said, a slight colour taking over his cheeks. He thanked the darkness in the cave for concealing that little fact, but what he didn’t know was that Rasa saw it nevertheless.

“And the sea makes you giggle?” Rasa wondered out loud, rising his eyebrows as he unpacked fresh bandages. Minato’s smile disappeared. He suddenly felt ridiculous, keeping his shirt pulled up. A strange consciousness on nakedness crept over him, feeling strangely stared at by those dark eyes, as if they looked right through him.

Rasa realized his words had taken Minato aback. Now it was his time to chuckle. That young one was like the sun, he thought to himself. Bright, intelligent, and a beacon of hope. “Don’t worry about it”, he said, softly patting Minato’s shoulder briefly, before he leant in again, Minato’s nose once more poked into that beachy scent, as he slipped his arms around the other’s waist to wrap the new bandage around the gaping wound.

When he was done, he backed away a little and quickly wiped his hands on a cloth. “Better?” he wanted to know. Minato nodded quietly. “I’ll be fine tomorrow morning”, he promised, but they both knew he couldn’t make sure that promise was fulfilled. “Doubtful”, Rasa countered. “But yeah, we’d best rest. I think it is night anyway, wouldn’t know for sure thanks to the…” he made a vague gesture at the tunnel’s roof.

“Could you perhaps… help me back on my feet?” Minato asked, feeling a bit helpless. “This place isn’t really ideal to stay the night. We should find some recess where we can stay out of sight.” Rasa knelt down and wrapped Minato’s arm around his shoulder, slipping his arm underneath his knees and arms. He easily lifted the ninja off the ground.

“I asked help me get up, not carry me bridal style”, Minato nagged, but Rasa grinned widely. For the first time, Minato noticed his youthful dimples. “Don’t worry, you may weigh about fifteen kilograms more than my wife, but I can still handle it.” At that, he received a deadly glare from the otherwise kind jōnin. “Ha-ha”, Minato said dryly.

But he stopped complaining. It was obvious there wasn’t much he could do about his situation anyway, and truth be told, it was refreshing he didn’t have to strain his already painful and tired body. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Rasa’s strong shoulders and peered into the darkness, looking out for said recess. They both were quiet now, as they had to be extra careful. If an attack were to occur now, they’d be… well. Fucked.

Finally they found it. Rasa was growing tired, and he knew for a fact that Minato wouldn’t last long either. Carefully he brought Minato to the ground, but he noticed the jōnin didn’t move much anymore. When he let go of the other, he wasn’t sure whether the man had fallen asleep or was unconscious from the pain or blood loss.

Gently he pressed his hand against the man’s forehead, making sure he wasn’t developing a fever. When that didn’t seem the case, his fingers ran through the blonde locks to the back of Minato’s head, and he held the young man pressed against his chest, keeping him warm. His chin was resting against the other’s forehead protector.

Just when he was about to fall asleep like that, he heard Minato’s voice. “You comfortable like that?” Rasa quickly backed away, nearly letting the other fall in surprise. A dark red colour painted his cheeks. “I-…” he started, but Minato smiled faintly at him. He pressed his hand against Rasa’s jawline and brushed his thumb across the man’s cheek.

“Don’t sweat it”, Minato said. “You obviously need to rest too.” Rasa protested a little, but eventually Minato persuaded him to lay down and take a break as well. They were pressed closely against each other to keep warm, as fire was out of the question. It’d be taking a needless risk, according to Rasa, something Minato agreed to without further thinking.

Sleep caught up with the both of them rather quickly, however uncomfortable their place for the night was. But it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as Rasa felt when waking up with the blonde’s arm resting over him and his shoulder being used as a pillow by the Konoha shinobi. What was even worse was his arm gently wrapped around the other’s shoulders. He’d often wake up like that, but given Karura was a woman… and his wife… Well that certainly helped to make things not as awkward.


	8. Glued State (Kouchaku Joutai)

The first thing he realized was that sweet beachy sensation. It was nice to wake up to something like that, but it became far less nice when Minato realized just what exactly that meant. His blue eyes flung open abruptly, and his gaze shot up. Even the darkness couldn’t hide the dark colour that his cheeks turned to when his eyes met that of the other.

Minato slammed his hand roughly in the chest before him, pushing Rasa off him, even though he’d been the one holding onto him and not the other way around, at least not entirely. Rasa, completely caught off guard on that one, roughly smacked against the wall of the cave, before face-planting into the rocky underground.

If Minato hadn’t been wounded, Rasa surely had punched him in the face for pulling a stunt like that, cute face or not. “What the fuck!” Rasa called out as he crawled up again. His angered expression froze however when his eyes met those of Minato again. The blonde was sitting up, his hand pressed against his wound and his other hand supporting his weight.

The shock was clearly visible on his face, his slightly opened mouth and troubled breathing as he was softly gasping for air. But their gazes were locked together, and it felt like not even an earthquake would make either of them move. At least, up until Minato groaned in pain and dropped his chin to his chest.

As quickly as humanly possible, Rasa shot forward, grabbing Minato by his shoulders. “Are you alright?” he asked with a panicked undertone in his voice. Minato softly nodded. “I’m sorry”, he muttered then. “I was a bit startled seeing you so close first thing I wake up.” Rasa pursed his lips a little. “I get that a lot”, he muttered under his breath, trying to lighten up the mood a bit by joking at his own expense, something that rarely occurred.

But it did work. A faint smile had appeared on Minato’s lips. “You’re not that scary”, he assured, reaching out his arm for Rasa, who immediately understood his nonverbal communication. He once again slipped his arm under Minato’s and helped him back on his feet. Just when he wanted to let go of Minato, he felt the man’s arms wrap strongly around him, as the ninja lost his balance and almost tumbled to the ground again. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms closely around him.

Another silence fell between the two of them. Their faces were barely separated from each other, and their eyes locked together like they had once before, but this time, neither of them averted their gaze. A little hesitation rose between the two of them, and Rasa could feel his heart pound heavily in his chest. His thoughts briefly went back to Karura and his son and daughter, and guilt washed over him in that moment.

Yet right when Minato’s soft lips touched his own, he couldn’t find himself to care one bit. Gently their lips pressed together, and Rasa’s hand crept to the blonde hair, digging his long fingers through the soft locks. If sunlight had a scent, Minato would smell like it. He saw how the blue eyes were closed and felt every centimetre of his body. He knew how the other’s hands were on his back, the fingertips digging into his shirt and groping onto him as if their lives depended on it.

After what seemed like an eternity and at the same time not even a second, Minato let out a wild gasp and backed away from Rasa, apologizing frantically over and over, as if he’d made the worst mistake of his life. And that second, Rasa felt the guilt return to him, and knew Minato felt it too. He shook his head, waving away the other’s apologies.

“It’s alright”, he said, his breathing as heavy as it would be after an intense fight. Yet it wasn’t alright. Both of them were from a different village, both of them had a woman waiting for them at home, both of them had a mission to complete and neither of them would see each other again after this day. Or so Rasa presumed. Minato on the other hand knew that one day he and Rasa would see each other again, both named Kage by then, and they’d have to look each other in the eye.

“Let’s head out”, he said, his voice a mere whisper as he quickly rubbed the back of his hand across his face. He made a gesture to the tunnel, but when he stepped forward, he nearly collapsed again. Rasa quickly shot at him, but Minato waved him away, which had the other shinobi freeze in his place. No bodily contact. He understood it all too well, yet at the same time, it ripped a hole through his chest.


	9. Strangeness (Kaii)

The silence they maintained while walking was agonizing. Not because there was silence. Rasa was used to that. He wasn’t much of a talker himself, and thus people didn’t expect much from a conversation with him. What bothered him was knowing Minato didn’t want his help any longer, and seeing him struggle on, his hand pressed so roughly against that wound, his breathing heavy and his eyes focused on the route so much he didn’t even notice what was going on around him.

He couldn’t take it. And he wouldn’t. He grabbed Minato’s arm all of a sudden, yanking him back and forcing him to stop. It came as a surprise to the one so focused on his way. “What?” Minato asked, sounding a bit agitated but at the same time he seemed as gentle as ever, as if he was trying to be angry at Rasa but couldn’t.

“You’re hurt”, Rasa stated the obvious. “You’re in pain with every step you take and yet you refuse to let me help you.” Minato looked away. He knew Rasa knew why. But he too realized it wasn’t Rasa’s fault. After all, the one who’d closed in on the other had been Minato, and not Rasa. He looked back at the other, trying to phrase why, but as soon as he saw the man’s pained face, there were no words left to him.

Except “I’m sorry.” Hearing that, Rasa’s shoulder’s dropped. “There’s nothing to be sorry for”, he urged, resting his hands on Minato’s upper arms. “I can try to lie as much as I want, to both you and myself… But that won’t change the fact that I… didn’t mind that.” Saying it out loud made it so much more real, Rasa realized.

An insincere smile forcefully appeared on Minato’s lips. “Neither did I, and maybe that’s the problem”, he remarked dryly. Rasa threw his head back with a sigh. “There’s not much we can do about it now, is there?” he replied, frowning. “Either you let me help you and we’ll finish our missions, both of them, or you don’t let me help you and you’ll collapse sooner or later.”

Minato did not give an answer right away, but he looked down instead, as if he was feeling guilty. “You have a wife”, he brought up all of a sudden. “And I have a fiancée.” They were looking at each other in silence for a while then, their eyes locked onto each other.

“And when you get home, you’ll be with her and I’ll be with my family”, Rasa said, his throat hurting slightly and his voice a little hoarse. Minato nodded quietly, accepting that what had been done, had been done. There was nothing that could change the past.

“So just let me help you”, Rasa urged, realizing he was swaying the younger man. Again Minato nodded, accepting the other’s presence and care. Prudently, Rasa wrapped his arm around Minato’s waist and laid his arm over his own shoulder, supporting him. He was wary not to touch any place too intimate, for he didn’t want to already sever that strangely fragile bond that was flourishing between them.

Rasa was listing a few rules to himself in order to respect the boundaries that Minato needed so desperately. No unnecessary touching, no compliments, no eye contact for longer than three seconds tops, no remarks about love life or family. Anything that would remind him of that one stolen moment was out of the question.

“I can see the exit.” Minato’s voice woke Rasa up from the thoughts on his self-imposed rules that he kept silently repeating. He glanced at the direction Minato was pointing at, and indeed, light fell into the tunnel, indicating that after the next bent, there was a way to get out in the open again. Eagerly the two walked towards the light, but when arriving there, it appeared there was indeed an exit, but not one on the same level.

It was large enough to slip through, Rasa judged, but with Minato being wounded, it’d probably be difficult for him to get up there and slip through that hole without hurting himself. He stood there for a few seconds, staring upwards. “How to get you through…” he muttered under his breath.

Minato let go of him. “You get out of there”, he said, shrugging. Rasa inquired how Minato would get out then, but the blonde shrugged with a smug little smile. “I’ll manage”, he stated. Rasa climbed out and waited outside for the other, and while he was staring at the hole, he noticed a flicker next to him. Before he knew, Minato was there. “How-… Oh, your… thingy thing technique.”

“That describes it pretty well”, the Konoha shinobi teased the other, who flushed a little. Remembering technique names wasn’t always as easy. As long as he remembered the technique itself at least. Not like yelling the name like a retard mattered much. He wondered if that kind of thing was in Minato’s blood; yelling technique names. He preferred being all stoic and cool and uttering them as if the world was at his feet. Well, usually in combat, it was.

“So?” Rasa asked, keeping his gaze focused on Minato, who replied with a confused frown. “What?” he asked. Rasa sighed. “The name of your technique?” Minato’s face seemed to brighten up at that question. “Didn’t think you cared to know!” he exclaimed in excitement. “It’s called Shunsin no Jutsu”, he proudly stated then.

Rasa repeated the words, and when Minato nodded, he knew for sure. “Suits it”, he declared. He glanced at Minato, and his eyes scanned the other’s figure. Surely he’d love to see that body flicker technique again, but with another meaning of the ‘flickering’. Oh damn, he could slap himself in the face. There they were being all confused over a stupid kiss earlier that day and now he was imagining the other- Holy fuck, but he looked great.

“You’re blushing.” The words brought him back to reality, but the colour in his face only grew darker. “Something on your mind?” Minato teased Rasa, completely oblivious to the images in Rasa’s head, that contained much Minato and less clothes. “Just one thing…” Rasa muttered under his breath. Minato chuckled, but he didn’t hear Rasa’s slight comment “There’s nothing else, that’s kind of the issue…”


	10. Aikōhen’ya (Scene of a Disaster)

Minato sat squatted behind a bush. Not the best tactical approach, but the cover the night brought him took care of the rest. He glanced at the man sitting next to him. “Judging from what I saw during the day, the guard patrol will be changed in about ten minutes”, he informed Rasa, who nodded. “Safest entry would be through there.” He pointed at the bottom of the wooden fence that had been erected to protect the encampment.

But Rasa noticed right away what Minato meant. Thanks to the rain, the soil on that particular spot had been weakened just about enough for him to slip through. Yes, him, because his gold dust techniques allowed him to clear the sand way faster than the wounded Minato would be able to. “I’ll provide a distraction”, Minato said, resting his hand loosely on his knee.

Again, Rasa nodded. Quiet as ever, Minato judged. But no matter, he was quite cute that way. “Just be careful with that wound”, Rasa still whispered. Minato smiled faintly. He was expressing concern, wasn’t he? Adorable. “You best be careful as well”, he warned Rasa. “It’d suck if you lost the element of surprise.”

Minato saw how Rasa made a face behind his back while he thought the blonde couldn’t see. The two stood up then, each going their own way. Rasa waited for the signal, being the ruckus that Minato would cause. He wondered how the blonde would go about it. After all, these were ninja, and assaulting head-on would be foolish, as they’d know something fishy was up. Only fools jump into a fight without a second thought.

When he heard the Iwa shinobi yell something about a frontal assault that was going on, Rasa’s hand found his forehead. He sure was a reckless man, that Minato. He hoped in all honesty it was not a trait he would pass on to his children. But either, way, that was his cue.

Rasa placed his hand on the wet sand and mixed his gold dust with it. As expected, the heavy weight of his gold started dragging the sand down, leaving an opening for him to slip through. Careful not to get noticed too fast, Rasa pulled one of the young bushes out of its soil and planted it before the hole after he’d gotten through, to cover the gap and hide it from sight.

He slipped through the wooden corridors, quiet as the night and glad that his attire was black rather than the blue of Minato’s outfit, as it attracted less attention in the shadows. But it seemed he had pretty much free reign in those halls, now that Minato was playing decoy. The only few ninja he saw, were running outside to go fend off the attacker.

Were they really stupid, he wondered. Who in their right mind would think that one ninja storming right into enemy territory was a real attack and not just a diversion? He let out a soft sigh. Idiots, he was surrounded by idiots. No matter, he shouldn’t be thinking of what was going outside, but just rely on Minato and do his part of the job. Scolding the idiot would have to wait until he was done.

Without alerting any of the ninja, he crawled through the shadows, towards the office where the sensitive information would be held. He placed two fingers against his lips, whispering: “Daisan no Me.” The Third Eye appeared floating in the office, stuck to the ceiling, and praised be the lords or whatever was out there, there was nobody present in the office.

Quietly, he slipped through the door. Scrolls, scrolls and more scrolls. It would prove hard to find the right document. Rasa spotted a scroll lying on the desk. Perhaps, with a bit of luck… He moved towards the scroll and quickly scanned what was on it. Bingo. He wrapped it up and slipped it inside his shirt. Best to get out of there and hope Minato would manage to escape too. Assassination would have to wait for another time, that way they’d not expect valuable intel to be stolen at the same time as the murder, which could only be to their advantage.

Rasa yanked open the door, but right when he wanted to leap through it, his eyes briefly met that of the commander, whose hand was reached out for the door knob. He recovered faster than Rasa, however, and quickly launched an attack on the Suna-nin, who barely managed to jump back. This guy was strong, he right away realized, and it was a matter of tactics and speed rather than strength that would decide the outcome of their fight.


	11. Jūwageki (Heavy Violence)

“Intruder!” the man called, which meant Rasa wouldn’t have much time before backup came. Acting quickly was the key. He flung his arms forward. Gold dust rose from the wooden floor, much to the surprise of his opponent, who quickly took a few jumps back.

The seals followed each other fast, almost so fast Rasa couldn’t follow them, but from the first few seals, he could immediately derive this man was a katon user, not quite the safest in a wooden building, but that meant all the more trouble for Rasa, as he was the one standing in the line of – literal – fire.

“Katon: Gōenka!” it loudly sounded. Shit, shit. Shit! The large fireballs coming his way didn’t mean much good, and earth techniques weren’t any good against fire. “Sakin no Tate!” The wave of gold managed to block the attack for the largest part, but the flames still gulfed around the room, taking to the wood quite quickly.

They wouldn’t have much time at this rate, but at the same time Rasa realized that this fire gnawed away all the valuable information that that room contained. A smart move, he thought to himself, but it was time to get on the offense instead of the defence, and make a quick end to this.

The gold that floated in the air was smacked down and gulfed towards the enemy like a wave of water crashing down on the shores. It was quick to wrap around the man’s legs and crawl upwards, turning him into some strange sort of gold dust-burrito.

A cruel technique, and he was aware of that, but this man had been branded a target for Minato, and they were at war after all. No mercy, there was nothing to be gained from letting this man live. The panic in his eyes didn’t say anything to Rasa, up until the moment he realized the man probably left behind a family, a wife and children, maybe, just like he had…

“Sakin… kyū.” The blood splattered all over the place. Being a shinobi had its risks, and war meant a high death-ratio. Children died, men died, families were torn apart, but if he let this man live, what would that cost his village, Minato’s village? If he had to choose, his family took priority over that of a stranger.

But the burning fire grasped his attention again. He had the scroll, he’d taken the life of Minato’s target. Time to get out of there, and hopefully Minato had retreated by now too. He quickly ran out of the office, leaving the flames to consume the outpost as he slipped through the entrance and kicked away the young shrub, before running into the forest to find the other again.

 

* * *

 

As Rasa came back at their meeting point, Minato was already waiting for him, his arms crossed as he leant against a tree. “Oh, you’re there, good”, he exclaimed when he saw Rasa. “I was growing worried”, he stated, but Rasa didn’t leave much space for him to talk. He grabbed the blonde and locked their lips tightly together, passionately kissing him.

Upon backing away, he could swear he saw Minato’s eyes swirl and his cheeks coloured a deep red. “You idiot”, Rasa said, shaking the other by the shoulders. “Storming into them like that- what the hell were you thinking?”

Minato ran his hand through his hair and chuckled a little. “That that would piss them off so much and confuse the hell out of them, especially if they couldn’t find anyone that I’d be playing distraction for.” Rasa squinted his eyes. “So you aim to say you were relying on my hiding skills for your plan to work?” he wanted to know.

“That was what the entire plan was based on, you dumbo”, Minato said as he poked the other’s forehead. “Wouldn’t have worked if you couldn’t stay hidden.” Logic, it made sense. Now Rasa’s cheeks flushed darker too, finally realizing how recklessly he’d smacked their faces together when he saw the man being all fine, all healthy.

“I eh…” he said, reaching his hand to the back of his head and running his hand through his hair, looking for excuses. Obviously they weren’t easy to find, logical reasons that would explain that kiss. “It’s fine”, Minato said, pressing his hand gently on Rasa’s chest. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to control myself once you returned, but apparently that was for nothing.”

“Eh?” Rasa asked, not really getting right away what Minato was on about, but when their lips found each other again, he stopped questioning the words and found his arms to slip around the blonde’s waist, taking him into a gentle, caring embrace.

“Did you get the scroll?” Minato wanted to know as he let go of Rasa again. The Suna-nin nodded. “And the officer?” Again a nod. “Good”, Minato decided, turning around to get ready to leave. “You don’t want proof?” Rasa asked, a bit bewildered. The other stopped in his tracks. “Do you have any, then?” he wanted to know, slightly surprised.

“Nothing real solid, only… ehm… what’s left of his body”, Rasa admitted. Minato shrugged. “Then I’ll just take your word for it”, he stated, smiling faintly. A strange, warm tingle rose up in Rasa’s gut, as if he’d tasted some delicious, warm soup on a cold winter night. “You trust me?” he verified. At that, Minato’s shoulders dropped and he turned around again, his face asking ‘are you serious?’

“What?” Rasa asked, brushing up his shoulders. Nothing ticked him off like being stared at like that. “You kissed me, I kissed you, obviously I trust you with something”, Minato said, raising an eyebrow. A silence fell, until the corners of Rasa’s mouth twitched upwards. “Are you saying… you love me?” he teased, at which the blonde frowned and slightly blushed, but gave no answer to.

Instead, the two were looking in the distance, where a huge pillar of smoke rose up. “Think we’d get a bonus for that?” Rasa wanted to know. “Burning down an enemy outpost?” Minato glanced aside. “It’s worth a shot”, he said, giving the other a soft nudge. “But we should go, before reinforcements come to check up on what’s happened here."


	12. Nakama (Companions)

Minato dug his hands in his pockets. He had been quiet for a long while by now, and Rasa didn’t really know what to do about it. He too kept his silence, but for him, it was more natural. What would the blonde be thinking about, he wondered.

“Is it far still?” Minato wanted to know. Rasa glanced up and frowned. “What?” “The spot where you have to meet up your escort”, Minato clarified. “I know mine isn’t.” Rasa started to realize why the blonde had been so quiet: he was reluctant to say his goodbyes to the Suna-nin. “Yeah, it’s just up that hill, near the shrine.”

Minato stopped in his tracks and his face cleared up all of a sudden. “You serious?” he asked. Rasa too stopped, turning around to the other. “Yeah, why?” But he didn’t receive an immediate answer. Minato rushed towards him and threw his arms around the other’s neck. Rasa closed his arms around the other, smiling faintly. “I take it you’re my guard?” he wanted to know.

Minato backed away and nodded then, cheerfully grinning. “Then no need to head up to the meeting point, we can just take the road to the south instead.” Minato agreed, though briefly wondering if it wouldn’t be better to head to the meeting point anyway and make sure it wasn’t just a coincidence they both had to be there, but Rasa assured him coincidences like that didn’t often exist.

Just to make sure, Minato wanted to know where Rasa had to deliver the scroll to, for he too knew the destination of the one he’d have to guard. “Border with the Land of Fire”, Rasa stated, crossing his arms and tilting his head, as if he wanted to provoke Minato. “I’m supposed to meet up with Umino Ikkaku.”

Minato nodded then. That was about right. There, they’d separate again. Rasa would go home to Sunagakure, Minato would return to his own genin-team, while the scroll was being returned to the Hokage. “Alright”, he decided. “I suggest keeping up the pace as long as we’re in enemy territory. We can slow down when we’re reaching the border.”

Rasa didn’t quite like the thought of rushing and having less time to spend with Minato, but even though he brought up the other’s wound, he couldn’t convince Minato of taking it easy. He was known for his flashy movements on the battlefield after all. With a heavy sigh that signalled his dislike for the rushed exit, Rasa gave in.

 

* * *

 

“Say”, Rasa asked all of a sudden. Minato was hopping from branch to branch, but when the other called out, he stopped and twirled around on one foot, glancing at the other, who stopped next to him. “Keeping up this pace won’t be good for your wound”, Rasa warned Minato. “You sure everything’s alright?” he wanted to know.

Minato smiled faintly and shrugged. “I’m fine”, he replied. “Don’t worry too much about it.” But Rasa squinted his eyes. He knew Minato wouldn’t want to worry him. No sign of pain, no complaining about it either… It was as if he was purposefully keeping his mouth shut so Rasa would think nothing of it.

“Let me take a look at it”, he urged, crossing his arms and giving Minato a stern glare. The other wanted to object, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the auburn ninja squinted his eyes as to intensify the sternness in his gaze.

“Alright, alright”, Minato murmured, rolling his eyes as he took off his flak jacket and placed it over the branch. He took his blue shirt by the bottom and pulled it up, revealing his stomach and chest for Rasa, but didn’t entirely take it off. “See?”

While that beautiful skin was being revealed, Rasa’s expression returned to normal. Minato peeked at Rasa’s face and chuckled all of a sudden. “Satisfied?” he wanted to know, for he wasn’t planning on displaying his body like that all evening just for Rasa’s entertainment.

The other quickly nodded, blushing as he was caught staring. “Yeah, fine, you were speaking truth.” Minato gave him a playful kick before putting on his flak jacket again. “As if I’d lie”, he scoffed. “I believed you when you said you killed my target, and now you’re doubting me… How rude.”

Rasa quickly started to make excuses, but when he noticed Minato’s grin only growing wider, he realized he was being teased and mocked. He ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re so troublesome”, he complained. “So are you, wanting to check on my health. Let’s continue our route, shall we?”

The other let out a sigh and gave in. “You shouldn’t be bullying so much”, he remarked to the blonde. “I wouldn’t if I knew you’re not able to handle it, but you clearly are”, Minato laughed, hopping onto the next branch. He expected Rasa would follow quickly, and he was right to think so.

The redhead couldn’t say much to oppose that. In fact, come to think of it, he thought it quite intriguing how someone seemingly so gentle and nice had actually a quite fierce personality. He was a bit ridiculous jumping into fights head-on, but at the same time, he always made it out again. Not to speak of the mockery and the self-confidence that he’d displayed by declaring they’d both be Kage soon. He was one of a kind, a wonderful creature.


	13. Kikyō (Homecoming)

Rasa looked upon the other. From here on out, he’d have to head home on his own, without the protection of the blonde. He glanced at the weapon he was holding, the kunai that Minato had given him before they’d sneak into the fortress of the Iwa ninja. “I should return this”, he stated, reaching out the blade to the other.

Minato took a brief glance at it and laughed softly. “Don’t worry about it”, he stated, shrugging. “I have plenty of those at home, I wouldn’t miss this one.” Rasa again looked at it, at the mark on the hilt and the distinct shape of the slightly heavier kunai. “Keep it”, Minato urged, pushing back Rasa’s hand as to say he had to have it on him.

“It might prove useful when I decide it’s time to see you again”, the blonde teased. Rasa however wasn’t exactly teased. Instead, he was staring at the kunai, quite dazzled that he could keep something, and immediately he realized that this would become something precious to him. He slipped it inside his jacket.

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to take good care of it”, he promised. An awkward silence arose between them, then. Neither wanted to turn his back on the other, but they had to go home either way. Rasa took a deep breath. If Minato couldn’t do it, he would have to. “Minato”, he started, but his words were cut off by a gentle kiss from the other.

“We’ll meet again”, the blonde whispered in Rasa’s ear, before turning around and raising his hand as a wave. Rasa blinked a few times, taken aback by the other, but then a sincere smile danced on his lips. Stop grinning like an idiot, he told himself times and times over as he went back to the road to Sunagakure.

 

* * *

 

By the time he arrived at the massive entrance, he noticed his three students were waiting for him, but they weren’t on their own. The village elders, Chiyo and Ebizō, along with another bunch stood there as well. Something was going on, something he wasn’t aware of.

“What’s going on?” he wanted to know. One of the men on the Kazekage’s council, a brown-haired man nearing his fifties, stepped forward. “The council has decided it is time we let the search for Sandaime Kazekage as it is, and instead choose a new Kazekage”, he said, to which Rasa frowned. What had that got to do with him? He only wanted to go see his wife, Karura.

“Get to the point, time’s valuable”, he said, squinting his eyes. The man glanced at the other councilmembers. “We thought of you as a candidate”, he said, not really certain if this man was the best option they had.

Now Rasa was the one to be quiet and taken aback. He thought of Minato’s words, and their promise, and a faint smile appeared once more on his lips, much to the fright of his students, who were all but used to see that little twist of his lips. The silence was deafening. No answer came from the man asked to become the next leader of their village, and the people were growing nervous, as the young jōnin was just staring off into the distance.

“Seinsei”, Baki’s voice woke the man up from his thoughts. “Hm?” Rasa asked, tilting his head up. “Oh, right… Yes… Yes, I’ll be Kazekage, if the vote’s unanimous”, he said, running his fingers through his hair. The others wanted to cheer, and he could see the faces of his students light up in excitement, but he suddenly made a little noise. “That, and if my wife allows me”, he corrected himself.

A silence fell, one quickly followed by laughter, as Rasa dismissed his students and went to file a report on his mission. And then home, oh how he longed to go home to that tiny Kankurō still stuck at his mother’s chest and his wiggly Temari with her two small ponytails.

And thus he walked home with the thought of his family on his mind, mixed with the memories of his mission and the prediction of that golden haired man and the bittersweet taste of their kisses on his lips still. Without even noticing it himself, he found his fingers to be poking the little dimple under his mouth, his fingertip tapping the soft skin of his lower lip. By the time he arrived at his home, he’d already set his mind ever so strongly on holding Kankurō and patting Temari on her cute blonde hairs.

Karura was seated on the couch, waiting for her husband to finally return. When she heard him enter the house, she jumped up in delight and rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her nose in his neck. “You’re back, finally”, she muttered under her breath. Then she let go of him again. “Yashamaru is changing Kankurō’s diaper.”

A sigh of relief escaped Rasa. “Good, that’s one of the things I was _not_ looking forward to doing again”, he said, rolling his eyes. “Let uncle Yashamaru deal with the shit.” He grinned as Karura shook her head. “Typically men”, she complained as she picked up Temari to hand her over to Rasa, who took his daughter in his strong arms.

“Who’s dad’s girl”, he asked her, and she giggled cheerfully. He dug his hand in his backpack and pulled out a broken wooden fan, decorated with animals. “I bought this for you in the Land of Fire, but it got damaged during the mission”, he said, but the girl didn’t seem to bother with his talking and happily grabbed the fan, shoving half of it in her mouth.

“She sure takes after you”, Karura stated, her hands resting on her waist. “She’s been throwing stuff at her brother whenever he cries”, she sighed as Yashamaru came walking back in. “I put the baby in his bed”, he said to his sister. “Took a while to get him quiet though”, he chuckled lightly.

“Temari! Don’t swallow that!” Karura yelled as she pulled the fan out her daughter’s mouth. Laughter rose from the two men, and for a short while, Rasa forgot about the guilt and the worries that his time with Minato had sown in his heart.


	14. Utsusemi (Man of the World)

Minato glanced at the reached out hand. It was a bit odd to him to be in such a position, standing in front of the one he considered to be a lover and a close friend at the same time, sealing an alliance based on a joint mission that had taken place a long while ago. Neither of their people were really convinced this would be working out, an alliance between the two hidden villages of Sunagakure and Konohagakure, but they put their faith in their Kage.

It slipped Minato’s mind that he had been staring at that stretched out hand for a while, making Rasa a bit confused and uncomfortable. Until suddenly he noticed little grains of gold dust flutter around him. They softly guided his hand towards the one stretched out. A broad grin spread across his face as he grabbed that hand. His eyes met Rasa’s.

He’d predicted this, Rasa realized. Minato had expected to find the two of them in a position like this one. His strange curiosity for the other had never faded one moment, and neither had his rather unconventional feelings.

“Let’s…” he started, not really knowing what to say. He wanted to propose something to Minato that’d make him stay that little while longer, enjoy their time together for another bit. “Go get a cup of tea before I leave”, Minato finished. “Gladly”, he then agreed. Their eyes met again, and Rasa knew the blonde understood.

They needed to talk. Not the kind of talk that bode ill, but talk about the time that had flown past for both of them since their mission together. Talk about their lives and their families, about the little ones and how they grew, about the villages and about them.

“You’re more acquainted with Suna”, Minato reminded the Kazekage. “I trust your good judgement to pick a place.” His words woke Rasa up from his slumber-like state, in which he’d only been thinking about that one mission. “Ah, yes, follow me”, he offered.

They walked in silence for a few, until they arrived at the corner of the street. “It’s just up ahead”, Rasa gestured at the façade of the building. Minato nodded, indicating he’d seen the building. “Looks quite cosy”, he declared. “It is”, Rasa stated. “When I just met my wife, we used to hang out a lot here.” It was out before he realized it, and he stole an uncomfortable gaze at Minato, but the blonde didn’t seem bothered much.

“For me it was mostly a ramen shop if I had my pick”, he just stated. “Kushina used to nag about my eating habits.” Even though Minato wasn’t bothered much by the mention of Rasa’s wife, the other way around it was true after all. They’d met each other briefly: Minato knew Karura a little and Rasa knew Kushina.

To be frank, Minato never seemed really jealous, but Rasa knew his jealousy was boiling up inside him. It wasn’t fair, though, for their situation was so alike, and him being angry with Minato while doing the same thing wasn’t right. Sometimes he wondered what was going on inside that blonde head of the other, but he never really figured it out, especially not in public places like the tea house.

Minato walked in, pushing away the merlot cloths hanging down over the entrance. “Good day”, he greeted the owner. He received a warm welcome, while Rasa quietly snuck in so not to be Kazekage-d all over. Not like the owner would notice anyway when taking the order…

“You know, this reminds me of the very first time I saw you”, Rasa stated as Minato was taking a seat. “I was entering a tea house on the road that time, and you just came out. Your hair was so… remarkable, it forced me to turn my head.” Minato smiled, a grin from ear to ear. “I remember the tea house, and seeing someone when I went out, but I didn’t remember it was you.”

Rasa squinted his eyes. He’d not really expected Minato to remember, but nevertheless, he’d hoped he did. “Well, it doesn’t matter. The important things happened after that”, he quickly brushed it off. “I can’t remember those either”, Minato said, leaning on his elbow, but when he saw Rasa’s face he started laughing. “I’m just teasing”, he assured with a playful smirk.

A snarl escaped from the other. “Your looks sure are deceiving”, he stated. “You look kind and nice but you’re actually quite the ass at times.” The corner of Minato’s mouth twitched upwards again, not quite seeing it as an insult or a complaint. “It’s good to sit with you like this”, he declared, suddenly moving towards a more serious subject, yet nevertheless genuine.

“That it is”, Rasa agreed. They’d ordered their tea and by now, the owner placed down the cups on the table. Rasa was subtly looking away, hoping not to get recognized, and while the owner already had ages ago, he respected the Kazekage’s silent wish by pretending not to. Minato picked up on that, but kept quiet as well, smiling kindly at the man.

When he was gone, the blonde reached out his hand and gently touched the back of Rasa’s hand, which made the other look up a little flustered. “Rasa”, Minato started, the Suna-nin looking up to listen carefully. “I know it’ll be difficult, us living in different villages, and different lives”, the blonde continued “but I want to expand upon our promise. I don’t want this to be a once-in-a-year visit. I wish to see you more often than that, and I’m willing to partake in joint missions, S-ranked, with the most excellent shinobi of Suna. You’re not Kazekage just to file out paperwork; it’d be a waste of your skill. Let’s go on joint missions together like the first time.”

Rasa listened attentively, at first a little nervous what was to follow, but quickly he came to be at ease and even a sincere smile appeared on his face. He moved his hand, not away from Minato’s, but to tangle their fingers together briefly, only to break the touch again. It was a public place and behaving like that was dangerous to say the least.

“Yeah”, he agreed. They wouldn’t get many opportunities to see each other, let alone be together in private to just talk. So the only choice they had was to create more chances. “We should.” The thought of not seeing Minato for weeks had been reality for a time, and it had been hard to bear. But not seeing him for months, perhaps even a year or longer, that was something he didn’t want.

“It’s a promise then”, Minato said, again sealing the deal with a handshake. “It sure is. You better keep that promise”, Rasa stressed. The other laughed again. “Of course”, he stated with his wide smile. “That’s my ninja way!”


	15. Eiyū (Hero)

Minato cradled the young child against his chest. He had never been one to fear, but now, fear was something that was in his heart with every second that passed and with every muscle he moved. The masked man was after his family. Why? Of course that bloody demon fox. It hadn’t posed any problem up until now, and even when Minato told Kushina everything… Even then she had controlled it properly.

Who was that man and why was he after them? What had Konoha done to deserve his wrath in such a cruel way? Sure, they had enemies, but like this? A drop of sweat ran down from his hairline to his brow, which he quickly wiped away. He teleported back to Kushina, using the Flying Thunder God Technique seal he’d placed in the Four Symbols Seal.

Kushina was weak, terribly so, and in no way would she be able to escape the fox. Minato’s arms wrapped protectively around her, quickly flashing away again, leaving naught but the yellow flickering behind when in reality, he already was far off placing his wife gently onto the bed, next to the child that had inherited his bright yellow hair.

He ran his fingers across the cheek of his wife, pressing a kiss on the forehead of his son. The fluttering of his coat could still be heard as he slipped inside it. The demon fox was waiting, and there wasn’t much time before he would arrive at the village to lay it to waste. But not much time was needed for…

 

* * *

 

Rasa jumped up from his chair. He was a calm man by nature, but seeing that man suddenly appear onto his desk, only inches away from him, well… It was frightening, no matter how cute Minato was. Only his expression wasn’t cute, quite on the contrary. He seemed so serious, and Rasa recognized the rare traces of fear in the other’s eyes.

“What’s going on?” he wanted to know, but Minato didn’t give him a chance to even finish the second word of his sentence. He caught Rasa’s lips with his own, wrapping his long fingers around the Kazekage’s face as he softly lingered in those brief moments. “I’ve come to say goodbye”, Minato whispered gently. “There’s no time to explain.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving nothing behind as usual, except that brief after-image. Rasa stared blankly in front of him. Goodbye? No time to explain? This was odd, to say the least. He pulled open the drawer of his desk, seeing the hiraishin kunai that Minato had given to him during that one mission, the seal on the handle almost burning its image into his mind.

Even though he briefly thought of it, this was not a break-up, this was a real goodbye. Rasa knew he wouldn’t see Minato again, and knowing that bothered him more than anything. What was going on? He wanted to leave right away, but he knew his absence would be noted. There was no way he could rush to Konoha, and whatever it was, the trip took days…

A foul curse escaped him as he pounded his fist into his desk in fury. Why didn’t Minato take him to whatever was threatening Konoha? He rushed to the door and called some of his finest shinobi to him, ordering them to go to Konoha and inform him on the situation there.

 

* * *

 

Rasa was staring outside through one of the round windows. He had his arms folded on his back and was growing more and more restless by the second. Minato’s words were echoing through his mind that evening and the days to follow. Wrenching his hands together, his jaw clenching, he couldn’t bear hearing nothing at all.

When the door opened, he turned around abruptly, facing the man who’d entered. The ninja seemed taken aback by the angry, infuriated almost, expression on Rasa’s face. He quickly knelt down, one fist pressing against the floor. “Kazekage-sama”, he said, asking for permission to speak with that one sentence.

“Spill it out, man”, Rasa said, agitated that the other was following the protocol so closely. “News from Konoha. Yondaime Hokage managed to vanquish the beast, but lost his life during the battle. The Third was-…” But here, Rasa waved the man away and forced him to shut up. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins, the fury towards Konoha only rising.

How could they let this happen? How could they let their leader sacrifice his life like that? Were the Konoha ninja, so well-known for their battle prowess, that weak they couldn’t even protect Minato? He punched his fist roughly into the wooden surface of his desk.

Rasa could hear the poor man scurry out of the room as quick as he could, scared to invoke the wrath of the Kazekage. At the moment, he couldn’t care any less. He sat down on the edge of his desk, suddenly finding a hollow hole to be growing in his chest. Memories of the blonde hair slipping between his fingers, those kind, blue eyes looking directly at him and that smile like a midsummer sunset. Those were things he would never forget and never let go of.

Rasa called Baki and his brother-in-law to him. The teenager had proven to be one of the most loyal ones of the village, and Karura’s brother would never turn his back on the man his sister loved so dearly. When the two of them arrived, he quickly gave them the details of this top-secret mission. Neither of them were expecting anything quite the like, but no questions asked, they took off to prepare for leaving that same evening.

A trip to Konoha, it would take a few days, and Suna would definitely realize their Kazekage had left, but that wouldn’t stop Rasa to visit the village of his beloved to pay his respects to the man. He had heard the goodbye of his lover, but he’d never had the chance to return it.

 

* * *

The silence on the road was deafening, and Rasa swore he could hear his heart pound louder with each step he got closer to the village. Infiltrating the village proved tricky, but nothing they couldn’t handle. What was more challenging was getting to the bodies. Rasa left behind Yashamaru and Baki to look out for any potential threats, while he entered the building.

There he was, lying side by side with the beautiful redhead he’d told Rasa so much about. There was a smile on his face, a smile much like he’d given Rasa day after day they’d spent together. Rasa reached out and his fingertips touched the back of Minato’s hand, but he quickly pulled it back when he felt the ice cold skin under his fingers.

This was him, but it wasn’t. This was not Minato like he remembered him, with a faint smile dancing around his lips in eternity, his beautiful blue eyes closed, the coat not fluttering in the wind, and his cold, cold touch. Rasa abruptly turned around. He refused to remember Minato like this. Minato was not this. Minato was like the sun. Minato was like the fire. Minato was life. But that wasn’t all. He was more. To both Konoha and Rasa. Minato was a hero.


End file.
